This year has been one long waiting period for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And, yes, other events took place. Babies were born, campaigns were run, novels were written. None by me, but, you know, they happened and I was aware of them. Also, music came out! I imagine you heard good music this year. So did I! Here are some of my favorites.
Honorable mentions: Deafheaven – New Bermuda, Dr. Dre – Compton, Titus Andronicus – The Most Lamentable Tragedy, Waxahatchee – Ivy Tripp, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment - Surf
And now, my favorite records of 2015:
20 . Beach Slang: The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us
Polyvinyl Records
What is there to say about Beach Slang? They make you feel great. Listen to them.
19. The Sidekicks: Runners in the Nerved World
Epitaph Records
The Sidekicks are constantly growing. With Runners in the Nerved World, they've reached their highest point so far. This was an early in the year release, and time has only made it better. It's more nuanced and mature, light-years from So Long, Soggy Dog.
18. Lucero: All a Man Should Do
ATO Records
This was the best surprise of the year. Lucero is a great band with some killer albums. The last couple, however, felt like something was missing. Well not anymore. This album is heartbreakingly truthful -- the story of a man married to the road. Ben Nichols seems to be in a more positive place even if the tempo has slowed significantly. Plus, "I Woke Up in New Orleans" may be a perfect song.
17. Courtney Barnett: Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
Mom + Pop Music
No one does detail like Courtney Barnett. From taxidermied kangaroos to a photo of a young man in a van in Vietnam, this Australian can tell a story that will break your heart and make you smile at the same time. Her problems are specific yet relatable, and even the simplest of subjects can be turned into an epic experience.
16. Speedy Ortiz: Foil Deer
Carpark Records
The best thing I can say about Speedy Ortiz is that they're all over. Guitars spazz out and refuse to settle down then layer over each other at a rapid pace. On top of that, Sadie Dupuis lyrically ambushes the listener. She's on point, but knows how to fit her share of syllables into four-minute songs. It's always great to hear a group live up to the potential of their breakthrough album. Foil Deer shows Speedy Ortiz going above and beyond.
15. Florence + The Machine: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
Island/Republic
Florence Welch has one of the most powerful voices in music. She and her band put on one of the best live shows around. It was a big year for the group, but nothing was more impressive than their third album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. It's a tight eleven songs with zero missteps.
14. Father John Misty: I Love You, Honeybear
Sub Pop Records
Easily one of the most pretentious and depressing albums this year, I Love You, Honeybear could have been a disaster. Instead Father John Misty paints an all too honest portrait of young love. Yeah, it's shitty. And the people we choose to couple with aren't perfect, but that shouldn't stop us. For proof, look no further than the incredible "I Went to the Store One Day."
13. Sleater-Kinney: No Cities to Love
Sub Pop Records
A comeback album ten years in the making has no right to be this good. But Sleater-Kinney prove that incredible chemistry doesn't go away. Picking up right where they left off, Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss have only gotten better with age. But really, it's just nice to hear the girls back together again.
12. Bully: Feels Like
Sony/Columbia
Alicia Bognanno has the coolest voice -- it's so raw and gritty. She's a '90s indie rock god for generationals. How she keeps her throat in shape remains a mystery. She shreds. And so does Bully. Feels Like is an excellent debut hopefully only scratching the surface of their talent. Plus Bognanno produced the whole thing!
11. Tame Impala: Currents
Interscope
With the exception of maybe two singles, Tame Impala have always come off more as a jam band than a major label rock act. With Currents, that hasn't fully changed, but their sound has been injected with a higher dose of songwriting. This is their breakthrough album, one that elevates them to festival headliners and kings of their genre. It's a change of pace for them, but a welcome one.
10. FIDLAR: Too
Mom + Pop
There's no band that captures slacker rock in 2015 better than FIDLAR (sorry Wavves). Zac Carper's album about getting clean rocks but also points out the difficulties of getting old and acting your age in the brattiest way possible. "I figured out as I got older that life just sucks when you get sober. I figured out when I got sober that life just sucks when you get older," is delivered through snotty nosed vocals and lands with a heavy punch.
9. Vince Staples: Summertime '06
ARTium/Def Jam
Something about a 22-year-old rapper making his debut album a double album is as ambitious as it is stupid. Luckily Staples delivers. Would a single disc have sufficed? Probably. But his effortless cool and awareness of the world keep you on board for the whole ride.
8. Desaparecidos: Payola
Epitaph Records
Hell. Yes. Connor Oberst's best work in a decade is his angriest and most punk rock. It doesn't matter what genre Oberst identifies with, as long he's emotive. Songs like "The Left is Right" and "Slacktivist" prove he hasn't lost his touch. He's saving it for when he needs it. The rest of the band doesn't hold back either. Shout out to Matt Baum's drums, which seem to be taking a healthy beating.
7. Turnover: Peripheral Vision
Run For Cover Records
Emo's back in a big way. But Peripheral Vision is so much more than a genre record. It's possibly the prettiest album on this list. Austin Getz's lyrics are sad, but he makes them sound so beautiful. And the intricate guitar work only makes the record feel more intimate.
6. A$AP Rocky: At.Long.Last.A$AP
Sony/RCA
There are so many reasons to hate A$AP Rocky and no one is more aware of it than he is. At.Long.Last.A$AP is a long look at excess. Rocky's still young and his bravado isn't getting any smaller. With an album that features guest spots from Lil Wayne and Kanye West, Rocky's ability to keep the focus on himself speaks volumes. Even over eighteen songs, he's able to weave in and out of moods while keeping it surprisingly cohesive.
5. The Wonder Years: No Closer To Heaven
Hopeless Records
This band keeps getting bigger and better. No Closer to Heaven takes terrible circumstances and turns them into a touching tribute. Along the way, Soupy and Co. have amassed a healthy collection of followers, clinging to their every word. This is growing up.
4. Julien Baker: Sprained Ankle
6131 Records
This album is heartbreaking. The twenty-year-old singer/songwriter delivers her no frills debut with the most gut-charged, emotional music of the year. You'll feel all the feelings every time you listen to "Something" or "Go Home." Best debut of the year.
3. Red City Radio: Red City Radio
Staple Records
Easily the finest sing along record of the year. We're talking windows down, lose your voice singing. Garrett Dale's gruff vocals show that he has definitely graduated from the school of Hot Water Music. Add that every song is air- guitarable and Red City Radio's self-titled album won't find its way out of rotation any time soon.
2. Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly
Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope
To Pimp a Butterfly has so many things other hip-hop albums don't: high school classes, a thousand think pieces, cultural integration. But what stands out the most about Kendrick's album is that he raps without settling for the status quo. Few others would venture so deeply into progressive jazz and Tupac interviews for inspiration. To Pimp a Butterfly is surely an important album, but it's also one that succeeds from front to back, something all too rare in 2015.
1. Antarctigo Vespucci: Leavin' La Vida Loca
Quote Unquote Records
Leavin' La Vida Loca isn't a high concept album. There's no glossy production. It did't sell millions of copies. But it is the best album released in 2015. These ten songs by Chris Farren and Jeff Rosenstock capture what it's like to be down on your luck and trying to get back up. It's DIY. It's punk. It's brilliant.